By Vinayak Khedekar

oli forms an essential part of the Shigmo festival either on day of the full moon or any other day of Falgun. The day and time is scheduled, as the tradition of village would dictate.

Holi is celebrated in the precinct of the temple of the chief deity of the village, from among the Panchishtha or a cluster of five. Holi is a symbolic burning of the she-devil Holika. Traditionally, a long trunk of the areca nut or any other tree is ceremonially brought to the spot and buried erect in the courtyard of the temple. A few stones are placed at the bottom and grass is spread over it. After performing the pooja of this tree trunk, the grass at the bottom is put on fire. When the fire is extinguished, the villagers break a coconut on the stones lying at the bottom of the burnt trunk. The pieces of broken coconut are then collected by the Mahar community or any other caste of the village, as prescribed by tradition.

Holi celebrations in other parts of the country consist of burning large quantity of wood. Whereas in Goa, Holi is celebrated using a symbolic fire, where dry grass is burned. At some villages, the participants hurl abuses and use lewd expressions as they celebrate Holi. This, however, is not a rule but an exception. The Kulmis of Ganvdongri - a place where the community originates from - do not celebrate Holi like it is celebrated at other places and avoid perverse language, otherwise a feature of Shigmo elsewhere.

In some villages, community sports are organised as part of the Holi celebrations. A game tug-of-war, using areca nut tree trunk, instead of rope is played and the winning team is awarded a coconut by the village committee. Then there is a competition of breaking coconuts. The man who breaks it first gets the coconut. The competition goes on until both the competitors break the coconuts. Games like kabbaddi and kho kho too are organised.  

Rangapanchami/Gulal

Festival of colours, celebrated after Holi. Unlike in the other parts of the country, Holi in Goa is celebrated using only gulal-vermillion powder, no other colures are allowed by tradition. Normally, gulal is applied on the foreheads and cheeks of people one meets. Depending upon the local tradition, each village celebrates this festival on a specific day. This is called Dhulwad or Gulal. Interestingly, only men folk splash colours on each other, and women, including young girls are spared from this gaiety.

Children enjoy this festival by playing with colours. It is a tradition to cook the choicest sweets on this day. The festival is extended over the twenty days following Holi. In recent times, Hindi films and media have brought in new influences to Goa and now people throw coloured water on each other on this day. This, however, was not the local tradition.

Gade

Gade play a significant role in Shigmo. A Gada is an individual with a special role in community rituals. When several of them come together, they are called Gade. They undergo purification rites to perform certain religious duties. They follow a strict code of conduct while preparing themselves to serve the local deity or spirit. They wash and drape themselves in white clothes, they gather at a place called Gadyam Maand in the village. In the beginning they sing to the rhythm of the dhol, called Gadyam Ramayan.

Apparently, a few Christians in Kunkoli were also experts in singing these mythical songs. As the singing continues, the Gade get possessed by spirits and start performing feats. They run to the public cremation ground and dig out the bones of the dead, bring ash from the funeral pyre, fall on big vessels, etc. In local parlance, this is called Gade Padap. Traditionally, only a few persons are eligible to become Gada, sometimes on order to fulfil a divine vow.

This practice of Gade is not in vogue in the Kanakona and Sangem region; however, there are other practices in which some men mortify themselves consciously. Those who actually perform these mortifying rituals are called Mhalgade - the chief ones. Those who play a peripheral role in such rituals are called Shelgade - minor Gade. They are more in touch with supra-human spirits and are said to suffer, if they fail to perform their divine duties properly. There are many legends and folktales about the Gade in Goa.